Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars taste like Reece’s peanut butter cups! A soft peanut butter biscuit base topped with a peanut butter flavoured chocolate, all you need are 5 ingredients: biscuits, butter, chocolate, peanut butter and sugar.

This is the ultimate emergency sweet-treat!

NO BAKE Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

When it comes to sweet treats, these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are probably what I make the most often because it’s so quick to pull together, no bake, and WHO DOESN’T LOVE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS???

Plus, I almost always have everything I need to make these. Even though biscuits aren’t part of my weekly shop, usually if I dig deep into the giant baskets into which I toss everything that doesn’t have an obvious dedicated position in the pantry, then usually I’ll find some sort of biscuit suitable to use.

A month past the due by date, perhaps. Pffff! That’s fine. Everyone knows that the used by date for things like dried goods are conservative. Right? 😜

And actually, here’s proof of how frequently I make these: I just realised as I was pulling together the photos for this post how they don’t fit together like a set, and it’s because I shot them all on different days.

The photos you see in this post are from 3 different batches where I snapped a quick photo thinking hmm, I really should re-publish these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe with a video soon, and finally I got my butt into gear and actually did it.

Albeit I’ve ended up with a weird set of photos from three different days. Four actually – because the step photos were taken while making the recipe video! 🙈

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe truly is pure gold. It was given to me by a reader, the lovely Dorothy from Tennessee, way back when I started this blog. It’s only 5 ingredients – crackers, peanut butter, chocolate, icing sugar (confectionary sugar) and butter. That’s it.

And it’s NO BAKE. Waiting for it to set is the hardest part of this recipe.

I usually approach “5 ingredient” recipes with caution. I find that many “5 Ingredient” recipes I see usually include a store bought sauce or similar. Like 5 ingredient BBQ chicken which includes a “bottle of your favourite barbecue sauce”.

When I see recipes like that, I instantly think that’s cheating!! 😂

Please don’t ask me why in my twisted mind, this counts as a 5 ingredient recipe “made from scratch” even though it is made using crackers. It just is.

#FemaleLogic

– Nagi x

For the Peanut Butter Obsessed

• Peanut Butter Caramel Pie – dangerously easy, outrageously decadent

• Peanut Butter Cheesecake stuffed Chocolate Bread

• 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies – just 3 ingredients!

More irresistible bars and slices

• Brownies!! AND Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies – ooh la la!

• Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Bar!) – the great Aussie favourite!

• Strawberry Bars – made with tons of fresh strawberries!

• Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars and Lemon Bars

And more emergency sweet treats – 3 Ingredient Desserts!!

• 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

• 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 ingredient Dulce de Leche – Slow Cooker Caramel

• Parmesan Shortbread Biscuit (3 ingredients)

• Classic Scones – and faster Lemonade Scones – both 3 ingredients!

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Sometimes it helps to have a visual so watch me make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars!

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5 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (NO BAKE!)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 15 mins

Total: 15 mins

Sweet

4.97 from 53 votes

Servings16

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Recipe VIDEO above. These no bake bars just happen to only require 5 ingredients. The hardest part is waiting for them to set! 

Ingredients

Base

• ▢ 115g / 1/2 cup / 1 US stick melted salted butter (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
• ▢ 1 cup crushed Arnott's Marie crackers (11 crackers) or graham cracker crumbs (8 crackers) (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 cup icing sugar / powdered sugar
• ▢ 3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)

Topping

• ▢ 1 cup dark chocolate chips - the melting kind (US: semi sweet) (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 tbsp peanut butter (smooth)

Instructions

• Butter and line a 8" / 20cm square dish or pan with baking paper.
• Place the Base ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Press into the prepared pan.
• Melt the Topping ingredients (I do it in the microwave in 2 x 30 second bursts). Pour and spread over the Base - smooth the top or do swirls (see photos for examples of each).
• Refrigerate until set - about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from fridge, allow to come to room temp slightly (so top cuts neatly). Cut into 16 squares (or whatever shape you want!). Best served at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

* Originally published June 2015, updated with new photos, words and recipe video. No change to recipe.

1. Biscuits - If you are in the UK, Digestives are great for this recipe. Otherwise, any other plain sweet crisp biscuit (i.e. not a soft biscuit with filling) should work fine - the base has peanut butter as the glue so it's a more flexible recipe than, for example, cheesecake bases.

You could even try biscuits like oatmeal or chocolate chip biscuits! 

To make the crumbs, you can use a food processor or pop them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin or can to bash them. Very therapeutic!

2. Chocolate - Make sure you use chocolate for cooking/baking, not the eating kind! And if your store sells many types of chocolate chips, get the MELTING chocolate chips (as opposed to the ones that hold their shape in cookies / muffins etc) as they melt easier and smoother. This can be made with milk or dark chocolate. I use dark - not the expensive kind with a high cocoa %, just normal dark chocolate chips.

3. Storage - keeps very well, around 5 days in an airtight container. If it's super hot where you are, fridge is best but serve at room temperature.

4. Gluten Free option: A reader reported that she used 1 1/2 cups of gluten free pretzels for the base and it worked out great! And a friend of mine has made this with gluten free plain sweet biscuits purchased from the supermarket and said she couldn't tell the difference in the taste or texture.

5. Nutrition per serving (assuming 16 slices).

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 46gCalories: 248cal (12%)Carbohydrates: 21.9g (7%)Protein: 4.9g (10%)Fat: 16.7g (26%)Saturated Fat: 7.4g (46%)Cholesterol: 18mg (6%)Sodium: 156mg (7%)Potassium: 142mg (4%)Fiber: 1.4g (6%)Sugar: 16.2g (18%)Vitamin A: 200IU (4%)Calcium: 20mg (2%)Iron: 1.8mg (10%)

Keywords: Peanut Butter Bars

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe was originally published January 2018. Updated for some housekeeping matters in October 2018, no change to recipe!

LIFE OF DOZER

That time he snuck on mum’s couch and we wondered how many cushions we could pile on him. We ran out of cushions.